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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · season · present · mug · cabinet · kid · chest · club

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mug — to rob
  4. club — for golf
  5. bore — to tire
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. mug — a cup
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. chest — a box
  14. season — of the year
  15. club — a group
  16. season — in sport
  17. present — there
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mug — a face
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. kid — child
  22. bore — to drill
  23. kid — to tease
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com